In the last two days, the Independent Qualification Commission (KPK) dismissed the head of the Vlora Court, Skënder Haluci, as well as Tirana Appeals judge Andi Civici, over unjustified assets.
KPK found that the Haluci and his wife’s property, consisting of two apartments, a loft, and an area of land, cannot be explained by their income. Additionally, inaccuracies were found in the judge’s wealth declaration, while his wife could provide no proof of tax payments for several years. Questions were also raised about the ability of the judge to finance his daughter’s life and education in Bosnia and the US.
Meanwhile, the administrative investigation into Civici revealed that the judge could not document having borrowed €40,000 to purchase the apartment he and his wife live in. Furthermore, International Monitoring Operation (ONM) observer Theo Jacobs pointed out a possible conflict of interest when Civici was transferred by the High Judicial Council (KLD) to the Tirana Appeals Court at a time when his wife, Eneida Civici, was a member of KLD.
Haluci pushed back against the KPK’s findings, calling them “surreal”, and accusing the Commission of attributing to him assets he doesn’t and never has possessed. Civici contested KPK’s findings by claiming they had made mistakes in their calculations. He also claimed that his wife, who resigned in 2018, thus avoiding the vetting process, was not part of his Appeals Court appointment.
